Hand-support for banjos.



D. E. HARTNETTV HAND SUPPORT FOR BANJOS.

APPLICATION FILLED JUNE 1, 1908.

' Patented Mar. 9, 1909.

UNITED STATES DENNIS E. HARTNETT, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

HAND-SUPPORT FOR BANJ'OS.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DENNIS E. HARTNETT, a citizen of the United States, and resident of New York, in the county and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Hand-Supports for Banjos, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to hand supports for banjos and similar musical instruments and its novelty consists in the construction and adaptation of the parts.

In an application for Letters Patent of the United States filed by me March 11th, 1908, Serial No. 420,303, I have described a device of this kind and the subject matter of this application is an im rovement thereon.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a plan of a banjo provided with my invention; Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same and a partial section on the plane of the line 22 in Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 is a pers ective illustrating the manner of securing t e hand support to the In the drawings, 1 is the neck of the banjo; 2 is the diaphragm; 3, 3, are the strings and 4 is the frame or rim. The diaphragm is secured at its outer edge in the usual manner to a hoop 4 which is engaged by the hook ends of bolts 5 passing through brackets 50 secured to the frame 4 and provided below the brackets with tightening nuts 6.

The hand sup ort is made of any suitable size and material and comprises first, a trans verse member 7 which constitutes the support proper. This is turned down at one end to form a depending flange 8 and aslight distance from the same end a section is partly cut out of it and turned down to form a second depending flange 80. A rod 9, bent at an angle at 90 and having a threaded end 91, is adapted to be freely passed through apertures in the flanges 8 and 80; Its other end 92 is also threaded and is adapted to be passed through a slot 11 in a bar 10 and to be adjusted with respect thereto by means of nuts 98 and 94. The rod 9 is also provided with a tightenin nut 95 adapted to press against the outsi e of the flange 8. The bar 10 is curved to conform to the general shape of the rim of the banjo and is made so as to extend not only between but beyond the bolts 5. This construction gives a much wider range of adjustment than before. The other end of the member 7 is secured to a rod 19, the lower end of which is threaded and is adapted to pass through a slot 21 in a Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed June 1,

Patented March 9, 1909.

Serial No. 436,016.

curved bar 20 which is in all respects like the bar 10. Nuts 22 and 23 serve to secure the rod 19 to the bar 20 and similar nuts 24 and 25 secure it to the member 7, or it may be made integral with the member 7. The strings 8 usually slope from a high bridge down toward the neck of the instrument. By the adjusting means comprising the rods 9 and 19 and bars 10 and 20 the member 7 can be arranged in a plane substantially parallel withthat of the strings, making the instrument easier to play.

There is a tendency to sag in a hand support of light flexible metal, such as must necessarily be employed. By the described construction I correct it readily. If I find that the member 7 has become unduly depressed, I lift it by hand near the flanges 8 and 80, thus moving the flange 8 away from the nut 95. Holding the member 7 thus elevated, I tighten the nut 95 with the other hand and the member 7 assumes a slightly arched position as shown in Fig. 2, the passage of the rod, 9, through the flange, 80, as well as the end flange, 8, serving to prevent lateral displacement of the hand piece under the end pressure of the nut, 95. The end 91 of the rod 9 tends to maintain such position, or rather to prevent the collapse of the member 7. By means of the wide slotted bars 10 and 20 I secure greater range of adjustment.

What I claim as new is 1. A hand su port for a banjo, comprising an arched mem er of flexible metal provided with depending flanges and a supporting rod engaging said flanges, one end of which is adapted to be passed through the flanges under the arched member, and the other end secured to the frame of the instrument.

2. A hand support for a banjo consisting of an arched member of flexible metal and adjustable means for securing it across the instrument, varying its distance therefrom and altering the curve of the arch, comprising a dependent flange at the end of the arched member, a rod adapted to pass through the same and means for securing the rod to and exerting pressure upon the flange.

8. A hand support for a banjo in combination with supporting members, each downwardly turned and means for securing them to the frame of the instrument comprising slotted bars adapted each to embrace a pair of frame hooks.

4. Ahand support for a banjo in combination with supporting members each downwardiy turned and means ior securing them to the frame of the instrument, either between, or on either side of, a pair of adjacent frame hooks comprising slotted bars larger than the distance between the frame hooks.

5. A hand support for a banjo in combination with supporting members each downwardly turned and means for securing them to the frame of the instrument, either between, or on either side of, a pair of adj aeent frame hooks comprising slotted bars larger than the distance between the frame hooks and nuts adapted to secure the supporting members to said bars.

Witness my hand this 27th day of June 1908, at New York, N. Y.

DENNIS E. HARTNETT.

Witnesses ALAN C. MODONNELL, MAY HUGHEs. 

